Dream Saga: Nakatsukuni
by Tomogirl
Summary: After returning from Takamagahara, Yuuki and everyone resumed their normal lives. Leaving off from the end of the manga, what would happen if the Takaomi that we know of isn't really the Takaomi we see two years later? Stat: Act 3 is FINALLY UP!
1. Prelude::Act Zero

**Dream Saga: Nakatsukuni**

**Author Notes:** This is based on the "Extra Chapter" of Dream Saga: Takamagahara that Megumi Tachikawa is currently selling to anyone in Japan in the format of a CD (or is it a DVD?). Since I don't live in Japan, I am only going to base this off of her sample page on her official website. I want to know what happens but due to my circumstances, this fic will have to supplement my imagination.

**Extra note:** This prologue contains a spoiler from the last chapter of the entire manga series.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Megumi Tachikawa's manga "Dream Saga: Takamagahara", her characters, her storyline, and also, her website. All of what has been mentioned is, and will always be, of Tachikawa-san's property.

**: Prelude - Act 0 :**

"Wake up!" a voice was shouting in the distance.

"Hn…," he groaned as he tried to open his eyes. Was he dead? He didn't know. The good thing though is that his pain has stopped. In the end, he could see nothing but brilliant light. The soft voice that was calling to him was familiar so he said the first thing that came to his mind, "Nakime?"

"Yes, Susano….I mean, Takaomi."

"What just happened? Where am I?"

"You're in the boundary that's between both Takamagahara and Nakatsukuni."

"………. So, I am technically not dead yet?"

"No, because, you still have a chance at living. Your Takamagahara body may be destroyed but your Nakatsukuni one is still in existence. I am going to transfer the remaining ounce of my energy so you can get to the other side."

"Wait! If you do that, won't you….?" Takaomi had a feeling that the woman was smiling at him even if he could barely see her.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine as long as Amaterasu's light is shining bright. I owe Yuuki just this much since I caused her grief back then."

"Nakime!" Takoami tried his best to get her attention. "Stop!"

"Good-bye. I hope to see you and everyone else again. I also can't wait to see Yuuki's smiling face," Nakime couldn't help to shed a tear as she stared down at Takaomi's body.

"Yuuki.. You don't have to do this Nakime!" his voice rang out one last time before he felt his vision dim into darkness.

-----

Two shadowy figures were standing in a darkened room surrounded by tall poles. The only source of light was coming from the mirror that they were watching, which featured Takaomi floating. Their attire consist of long robes and fine velvet.

"Heh. He's returning to Nakatsukuni as we expected. Shall we implement the plan?"

"Oh yes. The time for Takaomi's 'awakening' has only begun."

"Then, I shall submit an analysis report to Master and ask Daes to go to Takaomi's current dwelling," one of the figures curtly bowed before teleporting himself out of the room. After the figure was fully gone, the mirror began to vibrate a small hum.

"It's been years, Takaomi. I wonder if you're any different now. Will you still remember me once you see my face?" the figure grinned to himself as he continued to watch the mirror.

-------

The chimes of a giant clock rang ten times. A fifth grade boy woke up with a start as he found himself laying on the living room floor. His eyes looked around in puzzlement. The sounds of a soft padding of slippers could be heard coming from the first floor hallway.

"Takaomi? Is that you? Are you alright?" asked a concerned voice. The boy looked up to see a man's face popping out of the living room entrance with a look of concern.

"…..Eh? What happened? Why am I laying here? You could've at least have the decency to pick me up and put me to bed!"

"You don't remember? …..I'm sorry. It's just, your body wasn't… um… I was just worried that I might wake you up," his father, in truth, was afraid of saying that his body wasn't exactly there to begin with.

"Ha! Sure! I bet you want me to just lay here and suffer! That's what you're really thinking, right? What kind of parent are you anyways? Cruel? A heartless human being?"

"Takaomi… You're joking right? What's gotten into you?"

"……I… …," Takaomi responded with a shocked expression as if, he was suddenly splashed with cold water. What was he saying? Was this really him who's saying it? Suddenly, he felt his head starting to hurt. He clutched his head as his legs were now bending on the floor.

"Takaomi! What's wrong? Do you have a headache?" his father was fretting with panic and tried his best to support his son by holding onto his shoulders. Soon, after fifteen seconds of pain, Takaomi fainted letting his head hit his father's chest. Something terribly wrong happened that very night. Something incredibly wrong.

_If everyone and everything was a dream, why am I still existing? _

_Because, not everything is as it seems, and not everything that's an illusion is false. _

_Well, if that's the case. I want to be someone who exists in truth. _

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**>>>To be continued...**


	2. Beginning of a Crisis::Act One

**Dream Saga: Nakatsukuni**

**Author Notes**: Thank you for your reviews so far. Yes, this is the first Dream Saga fic to exist here on this site. I'm surprised, actually, that no one has done it yet so I decided to create one. Hopefully, more people can come in and add their own fics to add more life to this section. (Even though, the manga is sort of old now…) It's one of my favorite Megumi manga right next to Kaitou Saint Tail! Hehe.. I will be using names that are found in the Dream Saga fan translations online because that's what I used to read Dream Saga. I only have the manga in Japanese. Not Tokyo Pop's version.

Also, I apologize for spelling Takaomi's name wrong in the beginning of Act Zero! I'm going to fix that right after this along with other grammatical errors that I find there along with Yuuki's name. I know TP shorten it to "Yuki" but I grew up with "Yuuki" so that's what I feel more comfortable with.

My response to some of you:

Link Fangirl01- You're right! Yuuki was the only one with the "one body" thing. I did forget about it when typing that, but now, I know how to use that 'mistake' into my story. Mwahahaha… Thanks for pointing that out.

Rani- As much as I hate to say this, there are going to be some new characters in this fic. Not too many though. I understand your view though. I also sometimes go "noooo" when some fanfic writers do make new characters into their story as it seems to tarnish the "original" for what it is. It's really sad when they create too many new characters that I sometimes find the fic too hard to follow.

**Warning**: Spoilers from the fifth volume are scattered in here! I will be taking a scene from the very last chapter too. I highly recommend for those who haven't read the fifth book, to read it to get a better understanding of what takes place here. Unless, you really don't mind knowing the ending since Act Zero, then proceed with no caution!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Megumi Tachikawa's manga "Dream Saga: Takamagahara", her characters, her storyline, and also, her website. All of what has been mentioned is, and will always be, of Tachikawa-san's property.

**Key:  
"**speech"  
'thought'

**: Beginning of a Crisis - Act 1 : **

Everything around her was dark. Pitch dark.

'Where am I? This is a dream, right?'

Her long brown hair was flying with the air that was coming from nowhere. She looked down and her eyes widened in surprise. Below her feet was a city. Lots of lights were flashing and blinking. She could manage to see some tall buildings jetting out from the darkness.

"So, it comes down to this, girl of Nakatsukuni?" an elderly voice came from behind her. She slowly turned around to face a man who appeared to be in his seventies. He had no hair and was wearing a long white cloth from his chest to his legs. A golden bracelet glimmered on his left wrist. He chuckled as he saw the girl give him a look of bewilderedness. He knew that she has not heard the term "Nakatsukuni" for two years now.

"Who are you? How did you know…?" she asked suspiciously. She was facing a stranger who could be nothing more than an apparition or a bad guy in disguise.

"Do not fear me. We are in a special illusion created by my magic. My name is Yun. I am also an alien, like Nakime, who has taken residence in this world of Yomi Nakatsukuni that you see below your feet."

"Alien? Yomi Nakatsukuni? I don't understand."

"You will in a moment of time. I am mainly here to introduce myself to you. Next time we meet, it will be tomorrow night right before you go to sleep," the old man slowly lifted his left arm into the air pointing it adjacent to his body. The girl realized something was about to happen so she quickly blurted out her final question.

"Ah! Wait, how do you know Nakime?"

Right after she asked that, Yun's bracelet began to glow a warm light. The girl squinted her eyes as the light grew bigger. That didn't really distract her focus off of Yun though. She could see his expression clearly through the light. He was smiling at her but didn't respond to her question. The light that came from his bracelet started to encircle her body.

"Majikku Hansou!" the girl heard Yun shout this phrase before her vision became filled entirely with that brilliant light.

--------

"Wake up older sister! They're fighting again!" shouted a familiar voice. It was her younger brother, Kousuke (5th grade), who was practically shaking her body until she bolted up right. Images of what she believed to be a dream were already starting to fade from her mind. As she focused her eyesight, there were voices from the room across her bedroom that were shouting pretty loudly.

"I'm telling Mama on you! If you won't give it back so quickly, I'll be downstairs in one second!"

"Not until you give me back what you stole first!"

"Nah-ah. You're the one who took my Ultraman first!"

"No! Not true! You took Doraemon right before I woke up!"

"ALRIGHT!" shouted a new voice which belonged to their grumpy older sister who came stomping into the twins' bedroom. "QUIT IT BOTH OF YOU! Youji! Give Youichi back his Doraemon stuffed animal! Youichi, stop crying, and give back Youji his Ultraman action figure!"

"Why should I?" Youji stuck his tongue out at his sister. "It's Youichi's fault to begin with."

"Wahhhh! Don't listen to him, nee-chan! He really did steal from me so I thought, if I stole his toy, he would give up Doraemon!" Youichi protested grabbing a hold of his sister's sleeve. The girl sighed before bonking both twins (3rd grade) on their heads which pretty much made them completely quiet.

"Both of you need to grow up!" the girl stomped out of their room with a huge angry vein on her head. "Today's the first day of school! Do you want to stay as second graders for the rest of this semester?"

"No!" both twins cried out at the same time. They saw their older sister swivel to face them with glaring eyes. Even Kousuke, who was watching from the older sister's bedroom doorway, was feeling a bit nervous.

"Then….." the girl pointed at both of the twins, "wash up, exchange your toys, CHANGE, and I want to see you downstairs in twenty minutes!"

"Yes nee-chan!" the twins exclaimed running around their room grabbing hair brushes and towels from each of their sides. The girl sighed as she turned herself around to face her bedroom. Kousuke moved aside so she can get in, but before the girl even walked into her room, she paused right next to him. She turned her head and glared at her younger brother.

"Kousuke? Aren't you going to get ready too?"

"Ye-yes!" the boy instantly replied and dashed off to his room. The girl let loose her glare and began to smile after Kousuke slammed his bedroom door. She felt like a whole new person that morning.

A white text box appears out of nowhere and reads, 'Hey! Sorry that introductions had to be delayed a bit….AGAIN. My name is Wakasa Yuuki. I'm now in the seventh grade attending Kamishirou Junior High Academy. I've matured a bit over the past two years since my adventure with classmates into the dream world known as Takamagahara. It was my job between both this world, Nakatsukumi, and Takamagahara to find the five magatama that were needed in order to save both worlds. In the end, we found out that I was to be the next Amaterasu. My best friend and former classmate, Kai Takaomi, was really Susanowo, the holder of the sixth magatama. He was suffering in pain until he can eat Amaterasu. At our climatic battle, Takaomi sacrificed his life instead of eating Amaterasu or me. Everyone else were able to open the Ama of Iwato. Whenever I think about it….'

"Eh? ………… Kyaa! We're gonna be late!" Yuuki screamed as she noticed that her alarm clock was showing the time of ten minutes past eight. She quickly did all of her morning necessities with a nervous expression. Her face stayed panicky even when she got to her closet. This year, she was now able to wear a school uniform which consisted of a dark red skirt, ruby red shirt, and a dark red sailor collar. The uniform's ribbon color was navy blue. After doing all of her morning objectives, she took one last look at herself in the mirror before dashing down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Ohayo! Morning!"

"Good morning, Yuuki. You're up later than expected, but thankfully, you were able to get all three of them ready for school. Dad has to catch the train to Shibuya soon so he's in a rush as well," a lady, with short wavy hair smiled at her as she carried a tea kettle off the stove. A man, sitting at the kitchen table and was dressed in a business suit, also beamed up at his daughter. In front of him was a plate of half-eaten scrambled eggs and a small black rice bowl.

"Morning. That's odd though. You're the last one out the door."

"What?" Yuuki turned her attention to the clock on the kitchen wall which now read twenty-one minutes past eight. "Did my little brothers have to leave without me?" She ran out of the kitchen holding a piece of toast and was gripping her school hand-held bag tightly. As she got to the door, she sighed as she sat down on the floor and began putting on her shoes.

"Your lunch! Don't you want it?" her mother ran out of the kitchen door holding a small bento box. She reached over to hold the box toward Yuuki, who was beginning to rise from the floor and had the piece of toast in her mouth.

"Yef! Hankf ooh!" Yuuki quickly swiped the box out of her mother's hands. "I'mf eaving ow!"

She went through the front door in lightning speed.

"See you later!", her mother called out as she watched her daughter's figure disappearing down the street. As soon as she closed the door, she turned around to face her three sons who were all standing at the foot of the stairs with huge grins on their faces. They were all still in their pajamas.

"Nee-chan's going to kill us, isn't she?"

--------

Yuuki didn't know what to expect. All she knew was that she definitely cannot be late for the opening ceremonies. She managed to chew and swallow her toast within the timeframe of two minutes.

At exactly 8:25, the school's warning bell could be heard for miles. Yuuki's heart was beating quickly in fear that the security guard would close the school's gate earlier than 8:30. Once she found herself standing in front of the school's entrance, she nearly collapsed. Panting loudly, Yuuki bended over to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?" asked a voice from above her head. Looking up, she was staring at the grim eyes of the security guard. His face was as scary as the monster who appeared in a movie that she saw not too long ago.

"Uh…. I'm fine! Thank you for asking though!" she showed him a false grin as she ran past him. Just as she thought she could make it to the shoe locker section on time, she noticed a small group of people were standing in front of the lockers. All of them were boys. All of them appeared to not have seen her heading their way. All of them looked familiar to her….

It only took a split second for Yuuki to realize who exactly they were.

"Good morning! How come you guys are here? Shouldn't we all be heading to the field?" the girl stopped right in front of the four boys. They all stopped chatting at once when they saw her.

"Yuukiiiii! Why did you get here so early?" the boy with blonde hair, who was standing to the far left side out of the four boys, was grinning at her.

"Early?" she gave him a puzzled look.

"It's only seven forty-five. Most people would be coming in at about fifteen minutes from now depending on traffic and such" said the boy wearing glasses who was standing next to the blonde hair boy. As soon as he got done speaking, the blonde hair boy immediately jumped and hugged him.

"Na-Nachi! Let go of me! Wa-----h!"

"It's only a quarter to eight? What?" Yuuki couldn't believe her ears, "Then, what was that warning bell that was going off not too long ago?"

"Morning Yuuki! The school was doing a test. Nothing else so you should lay your worries to rest", replied a boy standing to the far right side of the group. He had dark well-combed hair with a calm smile on his face.

"I see…. So, my family really did play a trick on me, which they went as far as my watch! Thanks, Keima," she paused as she watched Nachi starting to suffocate the other boy with his hug, "It appears Nachi still hasn't gotten over his fixation over Souta. And you, Taizou?"

The boy, standing besides Keima to his right (and our left), punched his fist into the palm of his other hand.

"I think, I'm definitely going to join the kendo club this year! I heard that this school has one of the top kendo clubs in the district," his semi-messy black hair bobbed up and down as he began to imitate some karate slashes into the air, "Then maybe, one day, I'll get to see Nakime again."

Yuuki gave him an unbelievable stare and sighed.

"Some things never change do they? Look at us! We're now in junior high! It's been two years. No one else remembers those events except us."

There was a pause of silence between all of them except for Souta and Nachi who were barely paying any attention to the rest of their party.

"Yuuki…." Keima said solemnly looking down to the ground, "there's a reason why all of us got here early this morning but we don't know if this concerns you too. Last night, all of us experienced a weird-----"

"I don't think she heard you," Taizou interrupted his friend by waving his hand in front of his lowered face. Keima immediately looked up to see that Yuuki was no longer standing in front of them. Taizou pointed to Yuuki's present location.

She was standing in front of a tall cherry tree that was growing along the side of the school's front yard wall. There were other cherry trees growing next to it that paraded the school's wall. Placing one hand on its bark, she stared at the tree wistfully. An image of a smiling boy, with a scar on his forehead, came into her mind in an instant.

'Takaomi, because of what you did, both worlds can live side by side in harmony. Humans have become better caretakers of nature. Nature, in return, has started to become more considerate to us by giving us less snowstorms and more sunshine in the summer months. We will never forget you. Thank you!' she stuck out her tongue at the cherry tree. Suddenly, the side of her vision caught someone in particular coming through the security check point. It was a student, but it wasn't just any student. Her eyes widened. Could it be? She watched as the boy started walking towards her, but mid-way, stopped to look at the cherry trees that lined the school's front yard. Nachi stopped hugging Souta to look at what's going on. Keima had to stop Taizou from interrogating the new student by gripping one hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Excuse me, is this Kamishirou Junior High?" asked the student as he turned his attention from looking at the cherry trees to Yuuki. His light blue hair reflected the sunlight a little bit. There was a small draft of wind that came through both of them. Yuuki couldn't believe it but she decided to address the newcomer anyways.

"Takaomi?"

"Remember what I said, Yuuki? I'll be back when the cherry blossoms are in bloom?"

"…..When you were moving, you did say something about the cherry blossoms but I couldn't hear so well."

"That's because your face was all covered up in tears just like what you're doing right now," the boy grinned.

"Yeah…," Yuuki nodded slowly before running directly into Takaomi's arms. Small droplets of water fell from her eyes as she ran. The two embraced each other for what felt like an eternity against time itself. At least, that's how Yuuki felt about the moment.

"She saved me," said Takaomi as soon as they ended their hug. The girl gave him a questionable look.

"Who?"

"Nakime. She gave up most of her life-force energy to me, in order to save me from my fate. In the process, my Takamagahara body was destroyed but Nakime was able to send my Takamagahara soul to Nakatsukuni. Now, both Takaomis are living inside of me."

"Really? Does that mean you have multiple personalities now?"

"What are you talking about? I'm 'me', right?" the boy glared hard at Yuuki, who was laughing.

"Hey, you two love love people! We better get a move on or we'll never beat all these people to the field!" Taizou's voice could be heard shouting from a distance.

"Oh yeah!" Yuuki quickly turned around to see students and faculty members alike pouring through the school's front gate. She grabbed Takaomi's hand and lead him toward the shoe locker area with ease.

-----

Once it got to lunchtime, Yuuki and everyone else, except for Taizou, decided to sit at Takaomi's table. Taizou just happened to end up in a different class than everyone else. Earlier, he was complaining that it wasn't fair for Keima to be in Yuuki's class even though, he wasn't during their elementary school days.

"So, thanks to you Takaomi, you saved all of us. To think the person who was destined to destroy things ended up being the savior!" Souta was leaning over Takaomi's desk holding a juice bottle. Takaomi, who was about to take a bite out of his sandwich dropped it in surprise upon seeing Souta's face coming very close to his.

"Uh, well… Yeah. Shocking, eh?", Takaomi gave his friend a half smile as he used his clean hand to push Souta's face a little back.

"So, when did you and your parents get back in town?" Keima was the next person to interview Takaomi.

"Just two days ago. Father's temporary business job, where we use to live, was over with and so, we were able to move back here."

"Geez Takaomi! You had us all worried back in elementary school that you were never coming back. Also in Takamagahara, we knew everything was going to be alright but had that feeling like we'd never see you again. Oh, and you don't have to worry about me anymore. I found someone else" Nachi spoke with that sneaky grin of his. Souta gave the blonde haired boy a creepy eye look and shifted his chair a little further away from the group. Yuuki just smiled with a sweat drop dripping down her head. Takaomi smiled politely with his eyes closed.

"Thank you" and he continued to smile until a student, who sat in back of him, accidentally shoved his desk into the back of Takaomi's chair. Within a flash of a second, Takaomi shot up from his seat and grabbed the collar of the student's uniform.

"Why did you do that?"

"I'm sorry! It was an accident! Miito put something into my uniform which made me jump out of my seat and in the process, I pushed the table as well!"

"That was no accident, com---idiot kid!" Takaomi's eyes were filled with rage. Both Keima and Souta noticed that Takaomi was about to say something but changed it at the last minute. The student was now gripping Takaomi's hands that were holding onto his collar nice and tight.

"Takaomi! Let Makami go now! He apologized!" Yuuki was trying her best to calm down Takaomi. She noticed how much attention he was gaining from everyone who were present in the classroom.

"What's going on here?" the teacher suddenly came barging into the room.

"Yako-sensei? That student over there is angry at Makami for an accident" said a girl classmate as she pointed over to Takaomi.

"Hey! You're Takaomi, right? We don't need to see this on the first day of school! Drop him now!", the teacher scuttled through some of the awed students and their desks as he made his way over to Takaomi. Fortunately, Takaomi did let the traumatized Makami back onto his feet. The poor boy sat back down slowly and adjusted his desk back into its normal position. He stared up slowly at Takaomi's serious eyes before lowering his own back to his desk.

"I'm sorry….", he manage to whisper out. Yuuki was staring up at Takaomi in horror. Would the Nakatsukuni Takaomi usually do this? Never. Would the Takamagahara Takaomi do this? Maybe, but she wasn't sure. Takamagahara Takaomi was a thief but the closest thing he would get easily raging mad at would be if someone precious to him got hurt.

The class soon resumed back to normal. Yuuki was nervous and decided to avoid talking to Takaomi for the rest of the day. After school, Keima tried to ask Takaomi some questions, but, Takaomi was able to excuse himself and went directly home. The remaining ex-holders of the legendary magatama held a meeting in the school's music room. Taizou was able to be notified of the meeting and arrived at the music room promptly. As soon as everyone were all gathered, the meeting started at once.

"Yuuki. Did Takaomi say anything funny or strange to you when you guys were near the trees this morning?" Souta asked as he stared at Yuuki with a serious expression.

"No, but he did tell me of Nakime saving him and how he now has both Takaomis living inside of him."

"I see…. Maybe it's because of two personalities clashing with each other that's making Takaomi act like this?"

The room became silent. Everyone, except for Taizou, was thinking hard and pondering whether they were over-reacting the whole thing or not. Yuuki had her fist resting against her mouth as she began to replay the day's events over and over. She was still in shock.

"Wait, what's going on? I missed something, didn't I? What's this about Takaomi? I thought we were here to discuss last night's **dream**," Taizou interrupted the silence which brought Yuuki's attention back to reality.

"Dream?" Yuuki looked back and forth between all of the boys.

"Yes. This is what I was trying to tell you earlier," Keima began to reach for something in one of his pant's pockets. "We were visited by three people in our dreams."

Yuuki clasped her hand to her mouth as she saw what Keima pulled from his pocket.

"As you can see, this looks like it could connect with the half of the other stone that's now destroyed," Keima was holding up a brown magatama. It was facing the opposite direction from how their Takamagahara magatama use to face.

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**>>>To be continued…**


	3. Mysterious Magatama::Act Two

**Dream Saga: Nakatsukuni**

**Author Notes**: Ack! Apparently, I lost the "Author Notes" at the bottom of the first chapter since I kept updating it. Oh well. If anyone wants them back, I'll re-update them again in the near future. Anyways, I went back to both the Prelude and Act One editing them once again! I changed some of their punctuation concerning the real way to type quotes. I was doing it incorrectly like I use to do with my CCS fic. Unfortunate that I can't break that habit after all these years! I must also find a way to go around this site's omitting of having their name in my A.N.s.

It seems easier for me to update once a month. You can expect a new chapter up here before or exactly on the eleventh of each month (since I started on the eleventh, I felt like keeping it as a traditional deadline).

My response to you four reviewers:

Ladywarrior12- I'm pretty sure you can write better than me. You just need to practice, have a good imagination (which shouldn't be too hard), stick to a central plot, and be very patient. Also, read some books as reference for ideals on writing skills. I've been typing fan fiction since junior high but I don't consider my current writing level super good at all. I only see it as an improvement from the past. Nothing else. Thank you. I'm glad that I was able to help you get interested in Dream Saga: Takamagahara. I do recommend for you to read the series in order to get a better understanding of the characters and so on.

Fullmoonrose- Yup! Reading the final book does make everything clearer, otherwise, my warning note in Act One will serve no real purpose. I did put down a summarized version of it a little in Act One but it's nothing compared to the real thing.

Kiari Sage- Thank you, although, really THAT good? I've found a lot of fics better than this. Honestly! My work isn't that great. Nahhhh… (:-D)

Link Fangirl01- Hmmmmm… You'll find out definitely in this Act but I can't reveal its true intentions yet. My lips are sealed! (grins grins)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Megumi Tachikawa's manga "Dream Saga: Takamagahara", her characters, her storyline, and also, her website. All of what has been mentioned is, and will always be, of Tachikawa-san's property.

**Key:  
"**speech"  
'thought'

_Something critical is about to happen, but, is it okay to proceed as if it never occurred? _

**: Mysterious Magatama - Act 2 : **

Yuuki was staring with wide eyes at the brown stone that resembled half of a yin-yang symbol. The magatama. After a few minutes have passed, the girl managed to compose herself so that both of her arms went to her sides. She stared straight at the boy holding the stone.

"Keima, where did you find this?"

"That's the strange part that I don't understand. It was lying near the entrance to a park near my house. It's very different from how we found ours in the past."

"Different? What do you mean by that?"

"I was walking with Souta on our way to school when we came across it. So, if this magatama was sent to us, who exactly should be the one to receive it?"

"Does it have anything written on it?"

"No," Souta came into the conversation with his arms crossed at his chest. "It could be someone else's magatama that was accidentally dropped on the ground. You know? The normal kind."

"But what if it isn't?" Nachi asked with concern.

"Well, as far as I can tell. It looks completely normal to me. Let's try to break it and see if it's real or not," Souta took the stone out of Keima's hand. He rose the stone into the air in an attempt to throw it to the ground.

"Wait!" Taizou's voice rang out loud causing Souta to freeze in his position.

"What is it? Can't you tell I'm in an experiment right now?" Souta looked over his shoulder to see Taizou coming over towards him. Yuuki and Nachi exchanged glances. Taizou instantly grabbed Souta's wrist with the hand that's holding the magatama.

"I don't care about this being some kind of experiment but let me break that stone!"

"No! You'll only break it into millions of pieces!"

"But isn't that exactly the same thing that you're doing right now?"

"I'm not that careless compared to you…"

"What did you say?"

Yuuki had enough. Angry veins were popping all over her face as she got between both boys.

"Stop it! Both of you! Can't you see that you have the same goal?"

This easily got Souta and Taizou's attentions right away. Nachi sighed as he walked up beside Yuuki.

"She's right. You can't accomplish this if both of you guys keep acting like guys."

Taizou shot Nachi a grumpy look.

"Excuse me? Did you forget that you're a guy in Nakatsukuni?"

"Well… I have my ways of trying to keep my Takamagahara self satisfied," Nachi grinned as usual. "You can help by kindly letting go of Souta, first."

"Hmpf!" Taizou glared hard at Souta who only glared back. Both boys had a short glaring contest in silence. He eventually let go of Souta's wrist and stomped off towards the corner of the room. His sulking figure didn't give Yuuki the most pleasant vibe but she knew, he'll recover eventually. Souta was rubbing his wrist gently as he noticed how red it was. Suddenly, something else caught his eyesight.

"!"

"What is it, Souta? Did that stupid Taizou hurt you badly?" Nachi was fretting over Souta's expression. Yuuki gazed at where Souta was looking.

"The magatama is gone!" she exclaimed loudly. Taizou lifted his sulking head to look at where everyone else was. Soon, they all heard a noise coming from the music room's door. It began to slowly slide open. Everyone's hearts began to pound loudly as they all forgot that they were in a public facility.

"Yo! How's everyone doing?" Keima's smooth voice echoed all around the room. Everyone fell to the floor at once.

"You've been away? How come we didn't even notice?" Souta was about to go a bit nuts in front of Keima. The boy's smile did not fade once as he stepped into the music room shutting the door carefully behind him.

"While you guys were having a fun time insulting each other, I managed to steal and sneak the magatama to the bathroom."

"What? Why?"

"Please stop screaming in my ears mister four-eyes or I'm going to have to invent something that'll quiet you down. Anyways…," Keima pulled something from his pocket which was the magatama wrapped in toilet tissue, "I put this in hot water to see if it would give off reactions like any normal stone."

"And?" Souta asked this in a more quieter voice.

"What happened next was astounding. There were images coming from the stone appearing in thin air!"

"Do you think we can see what you're talking about? What you're saying is like something from some science fiction movie," Taizou's voice gave Yuuki a small jump in fright as she didn't realize that he was standing behind her.

"Sure, but this shouldn't be too surprising for all of us. I mean, remember two years ago?" Keima opened the music room door again looking back at everyone as he asked the question.

"YES! We know! Just go, Keima! This may give us a hint to our dreams!" Souta's voice sounded high in excitement. It was as if, he was super bored for most of his life until Keima came in with the news. He ran out of the room following Keima in an instant. The remaining three people in the room began to race for the door. Unfortunately, they all got stuck in the doorway as they tried to get out at the same time. This didn't stop Yuuki from being reminded of something.

"Oh, that's right. Your dreams! You guys never told me it!" Yuuki was able to squeeze herself through the music room door since her body was the smallest out of the three.

"Idiot Taizou! Move!" Nachi was growling at the other boy.

"No, you're in my way! Girly Nachi! If you weren't so girly, I would pound ya right here!"

Both boys kept squirming at each other for a few more seconds before Yuuki came running back to get them. She grabbed Nachi's uniform sleeve and began to pull hard on him.

"If you keep causing me this much trouble, I don't know what I'd do next! Both of you can fit right through that door just fine! You're just standing there having a mini fist fight!"

-----

"Sorry! Had some trouble getting these two dolts to behave," Yuuki glared hard at Nachi and Taizou as they entered the boys' bathroom sloppily. Both boys had a few bumps across their heads. They refused to look at each other regardless of whether they were walking or standing. Keima simply smiled at the scene as he turned on the faucet at one of the five sinks. Souta stared with that hard look of his. Nothing's really changed at all during these past two years, or so they thought.

"Hey Yuuki? What happens if someone catches you here? I mean, this is the boys' toilet," Souta blinked as he remembered that Yuuki was there among them.

"No trouble! I can always hide in one of those stalls, right?" the only girl, among all the boys in the room, pointed to a random stall with its door opened half-way.

"Shh! It's happening!" Keima's excited voice erupted around the restroom. Everyone turned their attention toward Keima's sink. His hands were cupped around the magatama as they were sitting underneath the running water. In between his cupped hands was an odd yellowish glowing light. It began to grow bigger until a new flash of light occurred that resembled the flash off of a camera.

Yuuki squinted a bit so she wouldn't miss whatever's going on, at the same time, try not to be blinded by the light's flash. As soon as the flash wore off, everyone was able to adjust their vision and their attention became focused back at where Keima was standing. What they saw next made a few of their jaws drop.

------

He was walking with a medium pace of speed. His shoes were making soft sounds against the ground as he went. He kept walking past a park, a child's playground, a few stores, and eventually, into another residential street. After passing six houses, he turned to his left and ended up facing a waist-height fence.

"Takaomi, welcome back," said a middle-aged man, who came out of the house to greet the boy at the fence.

"Father, I'm home," said the boy emotionlessly as he opened the gate to let himself in.

"How was your first day of school? Did you find your old friends? Any of them?"

"Yes, old man. I did."

"Takaomi! How many times do I have to tell you how rude that is! You even have to keep calling your own mother 'Grandma'?"

"Because, she is not of my concern. I can call her whatever I want."

His father sighed. It wasn't the first time that he had to deal with his son's unusual behavior. Hopefully though, he could find a cure to this and make this year, the last he would see of it. He smiled wistfully as he watched his only son walk into their house slamming the front door behind him.

---

Takaomi grimaced as he entered his bedroom. There was someone sitting on his bed...again. He hastily closed the bedroom door making sure no one was outside the hallway. Upon closing it, the figure stood up from Takaomi's bed. He was wearing a long purple cloak embedded with a few navy blue jewels. His face was hidden underneath the cloak's hood. Only a few strands of brown hair could be seen streaming down within the sides of the hood.

"He has not returned yet?" were the very first words that escaped his mouth. Takaomi glared hard at the guest. He hated how this person in front of him reminded him of what he's trying to escape.

"Daes, right? It can probably be a long time before he returns. In fact, I can guarantee you that he's living a much happier life in Yomi," Takaomi couldn't help but say it in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"I understand. I shall report this to Master, then. Although, Master is rather displeased of what you've done with the course of destiny."

"Yah yah. Blah! I don't care what you say. This has nothing to do with me but him! Why don't you go and find him? Why keep coming to me?"

"Because, you contain a part of him. That is why, I was asked upon Master's wish to keep surveillance on you."

"……….You knew?" Takaomi's face turned a little pale.

"I've always knew. Always. Ever since the first day we met, I could sense that in you. Thus, I realized that if I went to find him, not all of him would be there."

"…… G-get out! Leave! I order you to leave my presence at once!"

"As you wish. I will be back though," the cloaked figure bowed slightly before vanishing into the air. Takaomi rubbed his forehead a little as he placed his school bag onto his desk. He didn't think he could pull his stunt off for two years now, but he's beginning to worry that his façade will be broken soon. Eventually, he'll be discovered for who he really is. Not now though.

The boy stepped towards his bed and fell backwards on it staring up at the ceiling. His expression could be read as pensive or lost in thought. He knew his time was running short. Especially, if that Daes guy kept snooping around him. Curling up into a ball, he stayed that way until he fell dead asleep.

-----

"It's Takaomi at his third-grade birthday party! I remembered that!" Yuuki squealed upon seeing the image in mid-air floating above Keima's head. It showed a little Takaomi smiling as he was about to blow out his candles. Everyone stared in amazement as they watched the floating image like it was some kind of silent movie. The only difference to an old fashion silent movie was that it was in color.

"I don't understand. What's going on? Is that Takaomi's memory or something?" Taizou couldn't let his eyes off of the projection.

"We don't really know for sure. I could theorize a little as to the connection of that magatama to Takamagahara though" Souta adjusted his glasses as he watched Takaomi beginning to announce what he wished for to all of his classmates. Of course, no one in the restroom could hear him but they could tell what he was saying.

"Ok, my hands are becoming numb. I'm going to turn off the sink now," Keima reached towards the faucet to turn it off. Yuuki felt her heart pounding as the image started to fade. Just seeing Takaomi's carefree smile brought her some yearning to go back in time.

"Hey! Oi! What are ya doing? There could be something important at the end of this projection!" Souta ran towards Keima's side at the sink. Keima, himself, was simply staring at the magatama as if he was lost in a daze. Was it really that simple to begin with? He sighed and turned to face everyone in the room. His eyes settled onto Yuuki's.

"You want to know about our dream that we shared? All four of us?"

"…… Yes!" Yuuki lit up a hopeful face toward her friends. Now, it was time for whatever the boys were hiding to be revealed upon her.

"Keima, maybe we should wait. The dream might not mean anything after all," Souta turned to Keima with a worried expression.

"No, she has every right to hear this," Keima beamed. Souta huffed out a grunt before letting the boy continue.

"In our sleep, we ended up in some alternate dimension of some sort. The area was very foggy so we couldn't see well. These three people in long cloaks were standing before us. One was holding a sword. The second person was carrying a long staff. The third person was holding a magatama. We had no ideal why they appeared before us, nor, did we realize that we were all having the same dream.

The magatama, that the third person was holding, was exactly the same type of magatama as this one in my hand. Interesting, right? Before we left that dimension, one of the figures spoke to us."

"Yeah, it was rather sad actually," Nachi interrupted Keima's story with a shock look on his face. "That guy said this, 'Help us young ones for you are among the destined to re-direct his fate. Help us find him!' Rather suspicious, don't cha think?" Nachi finally grinned.

"Well, at least you are getting more exciting dreams than I do," Yuuki didn't quite understand her friends' descriptions too well. She stretched slightly before gazing at her watch. A worried look appeared across her face.

"What is it? You have to go?" Souta followed her gaze transfer from the watch to the bathroom's door. Without taking her attention away from the door, she responded in a clear voice.

"Un. Yeah. I forgot that I need to buy groceries before going home. My parents are both going to be out leaving me to baby-sit the rest of the family."

"Should we go with you? Just in case anything strange happens?"

"No, it's ok! I'll be fine on my own," Yuuki turned around for her last look at all of her friends before waving and exiting out the door. "See you tomorrow!"

----

A few minutes after Yuuki left, the entire bathroom became quiet. Taizou had his arms crossed as he stood up straight from his leaning position against one of the stalls.

"You twisted the story a bit."

"Me? Oh, wait. You mean Nachi," Souta shot daggers at the blonde haired boy who smiled sheepishly at him.

"Hey, I didn't want to worry her that much," Nachi shrugged like it was no big deal.

"If she found out, I don't think she'll forgive us," Keima stared innocently at his friends who all backed away from him because of his expression.

"And if someone found you guys out, I'll be the one to take the credit!" interrupted a newcomer's voice. Everyone quickly turned towards the bathroom door. To their surprise, they saw a dark brown haired boy, their age, standing there holding the door slightly open behind him.

"What do you mean by that?" Souta gazed at him suspiciously.

"A girl was seen coming from the guys' toilet. Don't you think it's rather strange? Something must've happened here," the boy whipped his head back and forth as if he could spot something more.

"That girl came into here by mistake. There's nothing going on here," Souta waved his hands in front of him representing 'no'. The newcomer smirked.

"I'm not stupid. You shouldn't let your guard down when it comes to people like me. I'm not like the other ignorant people around here. You better be careful tomorrow, idiots. There might be trouble following. Especially, for that girl. ….Excuse me," the boy pushed his way through the restroom and headed toward one of the stalls. As soon as he slammed his stall door behind him, Souta and everyone else quickly got out of the room. Their expressions were mixed between anger and surprise.

-----

"Who was he? Is he a new student? What he said creeps me out a little," Nachi's voice was floating above the four boys' heads. They were finally walking outside breathing in the fresh late afternoon air. Their school was several blocks away behind them now.

"Peh. Who cares? We have a lot of new incoming students transferring to our school, you know? Probably someone who thinks he knows better than everyone else," Taizou had his hands resting against the back of his head.

"………….," Souta thought silently to himself. He knew something isn't right. Takaomi's behavior. The magatama. Even that boy. Everything was a puzzle to him. His eyes tightened as he began to replay events over in his head.

'It doesn't make sense at all!'

------

"Yuuki….," a voice whispered around her room as soon as she got out of her bathroom wearing her pajamas and had a towel laying across her shoulder. She didn't pay much attention to it first, but, the second time the voice spoke, she jumped.

"Yuuki! Get away from your mirror! Hurry! Run!"

"Eh?" the girl froze and looked immediately at her mirror. There was something eerie coming through it. A mini black hole billowing with light smoke. An insect's tentacle was creeping out of the hole slowly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**>>>To be continued…**

Extra Author Notes:

Ahhh.. I couldn't stop typing this up! I had to end it somewhere. Right now, the plot is still on a slow pace. The main action is probably going to start in the next chapter. See you next month! (waves hands)

Extra Extra Note: I'd like to point out to westerners that in a lot of Asian and other nearby countries in the eastern Pacific, they don't use the words "bathroom" or "restroom" in their public places. They use "toilet". So, if you were in Australia or Taiwan, you would ask "Can I use the toilet?"


	4. Through the Door of::Act Three

**Dream Saga: Nakatsukuni**

**Author Notes:** Ahhh! Sorry! Sorry! This is very late! School started last month and so far, I got pretty busy or too lazy to even work on this. I also apologize for that abrupt cliff-hanger ending from the previous Act! It didn't really come out the way I wanted it but I had to make it as short as possible. If I could, I wish to change it but for now, I'm leaving it in. The beginning of this chapter will explain that ending much better……I hope.

I also went back to the other chapters to proof-read them again. Found some other errors so I changed them a little. Can't help doing so.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Megumi Tachikawa's manga "Dream Saga: Takamagahara", her characters, her storyline, and also, her website. All of what has been mentioned is, and will always be, of Tachikawa-san's property.

**: Through the Door of our Other Side - Act 3 :**

"Tadaima! I'm home!"

Yuuki was exhausted by the time she got through her house's front door. She was running very late for her rendezvous. Stifling a yawn as she took her shoes off, she didn't notice the footsteps of her mother coming down the stairs. Only after slipping onto her slippers did she notice her mom's presence standing right beside her. She jumped a little.

"Kaa-san! You scared me!" Yuuki placed an arm on her chest as she felt her heart beat skip.

"Sorry, sorry! I was just surprised to see you coming at this time. Your brothers are all upstairs. Papa is waiting for me at the restaurant so I'm in a bit of a hurry. What happened?"

"Ah. Um. There was a long line at the super market," Yuuki lied as she glanced at three plastic bags that were sitting next to all the shoes on the floor.

"……………I see. I guess it can't be helped then," her mother sighed putting one hand to her cheek. Yuuki expressed a half-hearted smile to her as she turned around to grab the plastic bags.

"Now, remember to put the dishes into the dish washer right away. I don't want to see any dishes on the dish rack," her Mom went towards the closet that was situated next to their umbrella rack. She took out a long brown coat.

"Haiiiii," Yuuki responded rather solemnly as she positioned herself to face the kitchen's entrance. Her hands were gripping rather hard on the three plastic bags.

"And Yuuki? Make sure they all eat properly and not leave a big mess on the table like last time. Also, check to make sure they've done their homework," her mother flashed her a quick grin as she ran towards the living room to fetch her purse.

"Haiiiii!" Yuuki raised her voice. She then walked slowly carrying the three plastic bags into the kitchen. She could easily hear her mom going back towards the front door area and hastily putting on her high-heeled shoes that she usually takes to special occasions.

"You left your school bag by the door just to let you know!"

"Haiiiii!"

"Ok! I'm leaving! See ya!" Yuuki's mom slammed the door in a hurried fashion. As soon as Yuuki situated all three bags onto the kitchen's counter, her eyes changed into an instant glare. She ran back into the foyer and started charging up the stairs.

"Kousuke! Youichi! Youji! Get your lazy selves into the hallway NOW!" Yuuki yelled as loud as she could. Once she reached the second floor's hallway, she saw all three of her brothers standing rather stiffly shoulder to shoulder six feet away. For a moment, all of them were staring at each other in silence before the boys started to explode pointing fingers at each other.

"It was Kousuke's idea! He's the one who asked Mom and Dad for permission!"

"Na-ah. Youji was the one who came up with it. He was tired of you having to come into our rooms all the time trying to bring us to order."

"No! Kousuke's the one!"

"Youji!"

"Kousuke!"

"Actually, it was all three of us. We all agreed to change the clocks," Youichi stared at Yuuki with an innocent look as he said this.

"Youichi! I told you to be quiet! You're too gentle to be even blamed for this!" Kousuke snapped at his little brother. Somehow, in the midst of their commotion, Yuuki walked right up to all three brothers and gave them a big hug.

"Ah? Whaa?" Kousuke's face blushed a little as he felt the warmth emitting from his sister's embrace. All three boys looked up to see their sister's face and what they saw was a surprise. It was an expression of gratitude. A warm smile.

"Thank you. Thank you very much," was all she said.

-----------------------

That night, for once, was rather peaceful in the Wakasa household. Yuuki's brothers were whispering for most of the time during dinner wondering what happened to Yuuki at school. They were rather suspicious about Yuuki's good mood.

Yuuki, on the other hand, didn't need to explain to them what happened. She was too happy about Takaomi's return that she cooked too much at the end. Her brothers, who usually make fun of her if she does this, didn't seem to mind at all this time.

Once bedtime approached, there was very little arguing going on and Yuuki appreciated the quietness. So much has happened in one day that Yuuki almost felt over-whelmed.

She took a very long time in her bathtub soaking in the warm water with enjoyment. Memories of the hug that Takaomi and she shared earlier in the morning repeated endlessly in her mind. Soon, the images switched over to the magatama, and that made her both anxious and excited.

"A new magatama. Is there something out there that we must find out?"

-----------

Yuuki, now dressed in her pajamas with a towel laying over her shoulder, was walking out of her bathroom when suddenly, the unexpected happened.

"Yuuki…," a voice as soft as the wind outside was echoing around her room. Yuuki blinked but decided to ignore the voice. It should be all in her imagination, right?

She headed towards her cheval mirror to examine her semi-messy wet hair. In an instant, the voice came back, which ultimately made her jump.

"Yuuki! Get away from your mirror! Hurry! Run!"

"Eh?" Yuuki froze. She gazed at her mirror in puzzlement before realizing something weird was on it. A black hole with light smoke pouring out of it, which reminded her of a boiling tea kettle. In a mere few seconds, an insect-like tentacle leg was creeping out of the hole slowly. Yuuki instantly backed away. She turned and ran towards her window which was next to her bed. Her hands pushed as hard as they can against the glass but it was no use. Yuuki realized that they were stuck shut.

'What?' she whipped herself around to see what came out of the hole. Her eyes bulged out as what she was staring at was a huge house fly. Its head almost touched the ceiling and its wings were almost the width of her bedroom. For a minute or so, Yuuki could do nothing but stare at it. Without warning, the house fly moved by inching slowly towards her. Yuuki wanted to scream, but knew, she didn't want her brothers to be involved. Closing her eyes shut tight, she waited for the giant insect to eat her in one gulp.

"I apologize for any inconvenience, girl of Nakatsukuni," the house fly suddenly spoke which sent Yuuki to the floor. "I was sent immediately here to fetch you by my master."

"That….that voice! It was you telling me to run from my mirror!" Yuuki instantly got back onto her two feet. Feeling her fear diminishing, she approached the giant insect with a little bit of caution.

"Yes. I had to warn you, or else, I'd fear that my giant proportion would crush you right away," the insect bowed its head with a tiny sweat drop dripping down.

"How can this be? We can easily communicate without a magatama? Where did you come from anyways? And who is this master of yours?" Yuuki's curiosity got the better of her mind as questions began to pour out of her mouth without a single breath. "You came out of my mirror? Why?"

"I can't explain here. I can only tell you when we're safe in Yomi Nakatsukuni."

"That name again! Is your master, Yun, by any chance? I thought it was all a dream."

"Yes, he is. Please, we don't have much time! I must take you to Yomi now before the gateway between our worlds is broken."

"Gateway?" Yuuki could not ask any more than that word. She felt her feet leave the floor and her body was flying through the air. "Kya! Careful!" the insect was picking her up by the collar of her pajama shirt with the very tip of two of its legs.

"Sorry. There's no other way you can get onto my back though."

"Ah," Yuuki gasped as she found herself lying across the back of the fly. She felt the hairy back to be a bit uncomfortable for her hands and bare feet.

"Now, hang on!" the insect cried out as he slowly turned his body around to face the mirror. Yuuki watched in awe as she clutched tightly to the fly's hair. Her own long hair went flying up and down in the air matching the fly's movements. The giant fly used one of its front legs to touch the small hole that was still billowing smoke. A flash of light erupted around the bedroom and then, they were gone.

-----------

-----------

"Miss! Are you alright? Miss!" a voice was shouting through her ears. The girl groaned feeling pain aching on her side.

'Kousuke, you're so loud. Can't you let me sleep a bit more? I was having this funny drea---,' Yuuki's eyes popped open at once. She found herself staring into hundreds of eyes that were staring back at her.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she quickly sat up and scoot herself backwards until she hit a wall. The large group of people who were watching her all sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness," the owner of the voice, that she heard earlier, smiled. It was a young blonde haired man who was holding onto a bunch of shopping bags.

"Young lady. You gave us quite a fright falling from the sky like that. You should be more careful. Lucky you did not end up in the city's slum areas. If you landed there, there would be no compassion for you whatsoever," piped up an elderly lady who was standing next to the man. She adjusted her small spectacles that were sitting perfectly on her nose. Pretty soon, the young girl found herself surrounded by the attention from the rest of the people who were watching her. She found the event to be pretty weird. Especially since they were all adults asking her questions.

"Yes! Be more careful! What's your name?"

"Why are you dressed in your pajamas? It's the afternoon for crying out loud!"

"Where did you come from?"

"Why were you falling from the sky?"

"Does your parents know where you are?"

Yuuki looked puzzled for a moment. She gazed about her surroundings ignoring all the people who were questioning her. The sun was high in the sky and blazing down at her. It appeared that she ended up in a city that resembled Tokyo. Tall buildings. Neon signs left and right. There was even a giant TV screen on the wall of a building but it appeared to be off. In fact, she's pretty much convinced that she is in Tokyo. The funny thing is that there were no cars at all on the streets. Everyone was walking.

"Ano, um…. Excuse me!" Yuuki interrupted all the people interrogating her. She managed to get them all to quiet down. "Where am I? Is this Tokyo? Which part of Tokyo, exactly? Am I close to the Bay?"

"To-ke-yo?" asked the young blonde haired man slowly.

"Yes. Tokyo. You know. We're in Japan, right?" Yuuki was beginning to feel silly for asking such basic questions to people older than her. The blonde haired man's response was quicker than she thought.

"No, this is the country of Honin. You're in the capital city called Kyoto."

"…………..Say that again?" Yuuki's mouth went dry. Her face paled. Was she really in another world?

"I said, you're in the royal capital of Honin, Kyoto. For someone who doesn't seem to be from around here, you sure can speak perfect Honinese," the young man freed one of his hands from his shopping load and began to scratch his face a little. Yuuki couldn't think beyond comprehension. Here she was in a country that has Kyoto as its capital. Further more, it's like the exact opposite of Japan but very slight, or so she thinks.

"One more question then," Yuuki managed to gain back her composure. "How did I survive falling from the sky as many of you were trying to tell me?" Once she ended her question, everyone watching her began to explode.

"First of all, there was this loud boom----"

"I was walking down the north-east road when suddenly----"

"There you were cruising down the sky like an arrow----"

"If it wasn't for that thing-----"

"Ka-BOOM!"

Yuuki immediately clamped her ears. There were too many voices speaking at once.

"Everyone! Please! Stop! You're making her confused!" the blonde haired man shouted to the crowd. At once, everyone stopped talking and looked down apologetically. Yuuki gently lifted her hands off her ears and looked up. She noticed that the young man and the old woman were the only ones who weren't with the rest of the crowd. The young man sighed, walked up a few steps, and crouched down beside Yuuki's sitting form.

"I apologize. These people rarely see anything as strange as your coming so it's only natural that their behaviors are somewhat childish."

"So-soka. I see. Well, that's understandable. It's the same from where I come from,"Yuuki smiled for the first time in awhile. The young man nodded his head in response.

"I'll be the one to explain everything and perhaps, help you find a way back to your home."

"That would be nice of you. Thank you."

"My name's Muta. I use to not be from here either until I got married and so, my wife and I were able to move into an apartment here in the city. That's my mother over there who also lives with us," he made a gesture towards the old woman standing among the throng of people. Muta stood up abruptly and held out his right hand towards Yuuki. "Come on, we need to get you to my home as quick as possible. The royal police are rather strict when it comes to unusual stuff around the capital."

Yuuki didn't have to think twice to accept his hand. As soon as she stood up, the crowd took a small step backwards. The young girl craned her neck once more to get a better look at her environment. She was amazed that there were no tar streets which explains why there were no cars. The ground was all made out of concrete side-walk.

"Come on!" Muta exclaimed as he pulled Yuuki with him. The old woman, who he claims is his mother, began to follow them. The remaining crowd, on the other hand, were still standing at their spots watching Yuuki disappear into the throngs of the busy public atmosphere.

"And what's going on here?" thundered a new voice behind the spectating crowd. Everyone turned quickly to see a man dressed all in navy blue with a small round hat. On the hat was an insignia that represented his alliance to the royal family.

"Arrgh! Run!" shouted someone among the crowd, and hence, they all mingled into the commuting Kyoto crowd that are just trying to move from one part of the city to another. The only person remaining from the spectating crowd was a tall shaggy looking man wearing dirty baggy pants and a dark sweatshirt.

"So, what exactly fell from the sky?" the policeman walked up to the shaggy man. A glint shimmered in his eye as he did so.

"A girl, Captain."

"A girl? Could it be? This has to be reported to the palace immediately!" the policeman turned around quickly into a specific direction. The shaggy man followed behind the man closely as both of them made their way through the crowded area.

----------

The district that they arrived at looked very worn down. Trash were strewn across the ground like fallen leaves. Cigarette butts littered the side of an alleyway. Windows were broken on some buildings. There was even a deserted convenient store on one of the street's corners. Yuuki couldn't help but stare in horror as everything whizzed by her. Muta was a very good runner being able to balance holding her hand, at the same time, holding onto his shopping bags. Craning her head a little to look in back of her, she was even more surprised by how fit Muta's mother was being able to run pretty fast which contradicted her elder look.

Soon, they arrived at their final destination which was a dead end street. Feeling that everything was okay, Muta let go of Yuuki's hand. The young girl immediately examined and shook her hand to make sure it didn't fall asleep from the very beginning. As soon as she was done shaking the hand, the girl looked up to see a run-down apartment complex adjacent to where they were standing.

"Is that it?"

"Yes," replied Muta and lead both Yuuki and his mother towards the complex. They climbed three flights of stairs that were located on the side of the building. Yuuki was starting to doubt that being taken care of by complete strangers was a good idea to start off. She knew she shouldn't be too surprised about being in another world, but still, everything around her made her feel uneasy.

They ended up in front of a door marked with the number '304'. Muta inserted his key into the keyhole and unlocked the door. He slowly pushed it open.

"I'm home!" he called out. Yuuki waltz right in after him feeling exhausted from all that running. What she found in the inside of his apartment was rather startling. Everything looked very nice and clean. Even the small kitchen was clutter-free of dishes in its sink. The place was the complete opposite of the outside.

"Make yourself at home. I don't think my wife is back from her job, yet. Do you want something to drink? Tea, perhaps? " Muta asked immediately. Yuuki barely got her shoes off when she was asked the question.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Hai."

"Ok then. Mother, I'm going to go make some tea. Please keep our guest company and explain to her more about our country," Muta instantly slipped into his slippers and dashed into the kitchen. Yuuki was speechless at the amount of energy he was carrying. As soon as Yuuki was able to put on her own slippers, she let the old woman direct her towards the living room's sofa The sofa, itself, was very comfy and not as bad as she originally thought it was going to be.

"So," began the old woman once she sat herself on a sofa that is on Yuuki's opposite side, "I guess I should be the one to properly introduce ourselves."

Yuuki nodded with a blank expression. Muta's mother, on the other hand, simply smiled gently at her.

"My full name is Asami Hana. I was born in a small little village that was built along the sea high up north in the country. You may have been a little surprised about my energy but do not worry, I feel like I'm still 23," Ms. Asami began to chuckle lightly.

"Aa," Yuuki pondered thoughtfully and tried to picture Hana chopping giant trees in a peaceful village without any fear while all the villagers watch with worried faces.

"And you, young one?" the old woman easily brought Yuuki back to reality.

"M-my name is Wakasa Yuuki. To be honest, I'm not really from this world as a whole. I just came here as you can see. I was brought here by a giant house fly. You haven't seen him by any chance before I fell, have you?" Yuuki looked anxious as she asked this.

"Oh dear. So, that explains everything."

"What?"

"You're lucky that my son and I saw the whole event. We found it odd to see an animal roaming high in the sky in plain daylight. There was a streak of light that came directly from the palace and struck the poor thing. Before we all knew it, we saw you falling while the animal was sucked towards the palace in that bright light. Thankfully, you landed on a soft surface but was unconscious. Someone from our spectator group managed to get you off of it and after that, my son was able to wake you up."

"He's at the palace? Ahhh… He's my one way of being able to go back home!" Yuuki stood up immediately.

"Child! Please, sit back down and calm yourself. The palace has high authority across this land. If you were to storm up towards them right now, who knows what horrible things they might do to you. They might even accuse you of siding with the animals."

"…….. I don't understand. I always wondered why I saw no birds or even other kinds of animals around here. Is this kingdom afraid of animals?"

"The thing is, we're currently at war with nature itself."

"At…war?"

"Yes. It's been like this for a decade now. All thanks to the current King. The previous King, the present King's brother, wouldn't have allowed this to happen. Many people across the country are split on our views. There are those who support the royal family's vision of an animal-free kingdom will turn blind eyes towards everything that's obviously wrong. You've seen the decay going on around our city, yes? This is all because of those people and the royals, themselves. They have no consideration towards the environment and they wouldn't listen to the people who are most in terrible need of help. When fights break out in the city, the police are rarely there to stop them."

"Why? Why are you guys living in such a terrible city? You should just go back to where you came from."

"It's not that simple as it seems," Muta's voice found itself flying into the living room.

"Not that simple?" Yuuki blinked and a huge question mark popped over her head. Hana sighed and continued speaking.

"Yes. I'm afraid, it isn't that easy. You see. We aren't just the average commoners here. We're rebels fighting for the freedom and to rectify this city back to its old clean self. We are also a secret search party of the Prince."

"Why? Isn't he…?"

"We've heard rumors and stories coming from the palace staff through a spy network. The Prince never quite got along with his family at all. One day, he just went up and disappeared. No one knows where he went. This gave us some encouragement that perhaps, we can bring awareness towards the Prince and hope, he be the one to change things around here once he's king."

"………….," Yuuki was speechless. She couldn't think of anything else to ask from Hana.

"So, Wakasa," Hana adjusted her spectacles, "you say you come from another world. Is this what you mean by Ja-pan and To-ke-yo?"

"Yes. I was brought here to meet someone but this happened so now, I don't know what to do."

"Tea is ready!" Muta's cheerful voice was once again floating into the living room. He now appeared walking towards the two ladies holding a tray filled with tea cups and a ceramic white kettle.

"Ah, n-no! It's alright. I said, you didn't have to…," Yuuki was waving her arms like crazy in front of her.

"No. You're a guest and as a newcomer to the world of Yomi Nakatsukuni, you deserve a proper welcome treatment. Besides, you just got here so you must be super tired," Muta handed Yuuki a cup. Yuuki accepted it gracefully but she couldn't help to feel alert when Muta mentioned 'Yomi Nakatsukuni'.

"Yomi. I need to know! Please tell me. Why is this world called 'Yomi'? Isn't it too much?"

Hana and Muta exchanged glances. Muta carefully placed the tea tray onto a small table that was in the middle of the two sofas. He then stood up to stretch and rub the back of his head before turning to Yuuki with a sad expression.

"It is true though. We are known as the 'shadow world'. The world that will never fall in harmony with its twin. The legendary world of Nakatsukuni that is said to be in very good condition. We use to have a different name but as residents of a world that is now lead by evil, we felt that we don't deserve the name so we had it changed."

Yuuki fell back on her sofa almost dropping her cup. She felt so moved by both Muta and his mother's stories that the compassion inside her began to grow immensely.

"Are you alright?" Muta asked in a concern tone.

"No, I'm just…..," Yuuki hid her eyes for a second underneath her hair before looking up at the people who graciously took her in, "touched by everything you said." The girl almost looked she was going to cry. Muta and his mother both smiled earnestly.

"Muta, show Wakasa the guest room. She should be pretty tired after having such a big fall."

"Right," Muta walked to the side of Yuuki offering his hand to her once again. Yuuki gazed up and back to Hana with a pumped up expression.

"I'm fine! Really! I don't need to rest. I want to explore more of Kyoto."

"You sure?"

"Yes!" Yuuki couldn't stop her containment of curiosity. She needed to learn as much about the city as possible. The girl completely understood now why she was brought out to this world. A world where those who wish for hope haven't seen it yet. Yuuki decided to save it no matter what. Even if she has to conceal her identity to those around her. One thing that puzzled her though is if Muta and his mother ever realized that she really is from Nakatsukuni. It seemed pretty obvious by the way she's described everything thus far, yet, no one bothered to ask her anything else about her world.

----

Yuuki grabbed a hold of Muta's hand. She stood up and was about to head for the front door when it suddenly opened on its own.

"I'm back!" called out a new voice. "There's been rumors at the palace of the captain keeping an animal in the prison cells." A curly brown haired woman came through the door wearing a plain blue dress. Her face was covered in soot.

"Welcome back, Nirame," Hana's voice softly greeted the woman in the background.

"Ah," Yuuki stepped back in surprise. The woman didn't seem to notice her standing in front of her until she was done taking off her shoes.

"Oh? Who are you?" she smiled at Yuuki in a cordial manner.

"Nirame, this is Wakasa Yuuki. A newcomer to our city," Muta spoke switching his attention from the woman to Yuuki. "And Wakasa, this is my beautiful wife, Narime."

"An outsider, eh? Someone just like us?" the woman expressed a cocky grin. "Where are her parents? Do they even know she's here?"

"I came….I came from another world," Yuuki said in a hesitant tone.

"What? For real," Nirame exclaimed. Yuuki cringed a little fearing for the worst that the woman might think she's crazy. Instead, Nirame extended a welcoming hand towards her. Yuuki looked up at the woman, speechless.

"Wakasa. It's a pleasure of meeting you. Can I call you Yuuki instead? I'm tired of traditional formalities."

"Sure," Yuuki nodded her head as she accepted Nirame's hand shake.

"So, let's forget about the current events for now and have some fun. I want to give you a grand tour of Kyoto." Nirame winked to her husband as she spoke.

"Ah but…," Muta raised his hand into the air a little in a form of protest.

"Don't worry. We can discuss the big news later. Right now, the poor girl barely just got here, right? You must've just dragged her here and expect to keep her safe from the outside world. Ha. Well, it's better if she gets some fresh air. Who knows. She might end up being separated from us so we have to show her way around town."

"But…," Muta continued trying to speak of his own view.

"Save it old man," Nirame began walking through the living room and headed towards a closed door. "Today's Yuuki's day out and there's nothing you can do to keep her cooped up here," she quickly turned around to face everyone with a tongue stuck out. "Nyahhhhhhh!"

Both Hana and Yuuki quickly laughed but Muta, on the other hand, only crossed his arms with a stern look. He knew he lost this round, but, that doesn't mean he's given up yet.

Once Nirame changed into more casual clothing consisted of jeans and a buttoned blouse, she and Yuuki were soon finding themselves wandering a huge bazaar that wasn't too far away from Muta's apartment.

"Now, this is the best place in the city to find fresh food. Don't go to the city's central more populated market. It's full of spoiled stuff," Nirame advised Yuuki quite easily with a smug on her face. Yuuki was amazed. There were a lot of different types of meat, fruit, and vegetables that were old and new to her. Some of the fruit looked very bizarre looking such as baring spikes all over their surfaces. There were several shouts in the air as vendors were constantly advertising their goods non-stop.

All of a sudden, Yuuki couldn't help but be stared at for the majority of the time that they were browsing around the open air market. The stares were so powerful that Yuuki couldn't bare them any longer so she stopped in her tracks making Nirame turn around to look at her puzzlement. Yuuki flashed a quick grin on her face as she hugged herself.

"Um, Mrs. Asami? There are lots of people staring at me. I think, it's because I'm still wandering around here in my pajamas."

"Oh?" Nirame gave a good look at Yuuki, up and down. "In that case," she grabbed Yuuki's hand tightly, "lets go to the mall, shall we?" Both of them went dashing off exiting out of the market area and zigged-zag through several streets.

-----

"Are you sure you're comfortable in those?" Nirame asked in a concerned voice as they were exiting out of the small two floor run down shopping mall. Yuuki dashed over to a nearby shop's window to examine herself one more time. Her new clothing consisted of a light blue cut-off and a yellow shirt with a few white stars printed all over it. The pajamas were safely packed away in a shopping bag that she was carrying with one of her hands.

"Yes. I'm fine. Thank you, but, I'm sorry! I must be quite a burden to you. Spending that much yen on this! I'll pay you back!" Yuuki immediately bowed. She didn't even know how she'll explain her new clothing to her parents once she goes back to her world.

"Aw, you're cute! Don't worry about it. It's all on me. I always wanted to have a child of my own and just having you around supplements my yearning, " Nirame slightly giggled as she gave Yuuki a big slap on the back. Yuuki felt herself reeling over from the slap and landed face down onto someone's back.

"Ah! Sorry!" Yuuki quickly jumped back in embarrassment. She looked up to see who she bumped into. It was a sandy brown hair colored girl who strangely reminded her of a classmate from school. Her hair was tied into a bun and she apparently was waiting for someone to exit the store as she was holding the door open for whoever it was.

"Hm? Oh, it's alright," the girl said with a smile as she turned to look at Yuuki. She turned to look forward again and stared at the empty open door. "Hurry up little brother! Mom's going to have one of her nervous break downs if we're not back by eleven!"

"Sorry! Coming!" shouted a familiar voice, from inside the store, to Yuuki's ears. Her eyes widened. Soon, a figure, wearing an ivy green shirt, emerged from the door frame and was holding onto a small plastic bag. He had on a panicked expression and his hair seemed to be a bit messy. Just his aura alone made her feel secure all over again.

It was…. Takaomi.

Yuuki couldn't even move. She could barely speak. Yet, she didn't even need to get his attention. Nirame did it for her.

"Hey, you! Boy!" she ran past Yuuki and stopped right in front of the boy, "Your face. Your appearance. Aren't you… You are him, right? The Prince!"

For a few seconds, Yuuki's heart beat began to pound rapidly. Everything happened in slow motion in front of her. The boy, who resembles Takaomi, took a small step backwards. The girl, that Yuuki bumped into, grabbed a hold of his shoulder and looked straight into Nirame's serious eyes.

"We have no idea what you're talking about. The Prince is nothing but a selfish child who doesn't even deserve such a title. My little brother here isn't him. Now please, leave us alone in peace!" the girl snatched the boy by his left arm and dragged him away from the area. Soon, their figures were tiny dots in the distance down the long busy street.

Nirame stared at where they once were standing with a blank look on her face. Soon, she sighed and scratched the back of her head.

"I scared them away. Too bad. I was pretty convinced that that guy was him," she stopped remembering that she had Yuuki standing behind her. "I'm sorry. It's part of our family's job, you see, to seek out the missing prince. So, once in awhile, I always happen to check just about every guy that I come across," Nirame turned around to face Yuuki. The younger girl was still frozen on her spot, looking in the direction that both the other girl and boy took off in. Her mind was racing endlessly as to what she just saw could possibly mean.

'Takaomi? Prince? He's……'

"Yuuki?" Nirame moved to have her face planted right in front of Yuuki's face. "YUUKI!"

"Ah! Wha? Huh?" Yuuki snapped out of her thoughts in an instant. Her eyes bulged as she fond herself staring at Nirame's face.

"Sorry dear but we gotta move. It's almost lunchtime and I'm in charge of food preparation. You want to help?"

Yuuki didn't waste any time to nod her head. Nirame grinned, and once again, grabbed Yuuki's free hand.

"Excellent. Let's go!"

---

"Geeze. What's up with all these people thinking you're the Prince? Before you know it, we might even have the royal military coming up to our front door---- Hey, are you listening?" the tall girl looked to her right to see the blue haired boy pausing in front of a tree.

"……………….."

The girl stamped her feet and decided to shout in order to grab his attention.

"Oi, Kiseki!"

"Wha?" the boy's head turned quickly to face the girl, "Oh. Sorry!"

"Sheesh. So easy to distract," the girl whapped her face. "So, what were you thinking when staring at those trees? Did something come back to you?"

"Sakura."

"Hm? What's that?"

"I don't know. It just popped into my head when looking at those Coco trees."

"Then, that definitely has to be something from that missing memory of yours!"

"…….It's hard to say," the boy shivered a little to himself. "I'm a bit afraid to even find out…."

_The truth. _

Once the boy and the girl continued on their journey, the Coco tree that Kiseki was looking at began to flash a bit of light before fading into darkness.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** >>>To be continued…**

Note:

"Kiseki" means "miracle".


End file.
